When marriage is right on the edge, a Christian marriage counseling is often not the most popular subject of discussion for a number of reasons: One, people who are undergoing marital crisis don’t even know that they are; two, people who knows that they have recognized that their marriage is in crisis don’t even want to expose their problems with a counselor; and three, if they want to talk to someone other than their partner, they go to the typical marriage counselor without the “Christian approach”. This is not to say that a Christian counseling is not as effective as other more popular counseling. In fact, many couples who sought help from a Christian counselor can prove its benefits.
Christian counseling’s purpose is no different from other secular counseling: to help improve the status of troubled couples. However, the main difference of Christian counseling and the psychologically-integrated systems is the former’s foundation to the Scripture, how couples have disobeyed its commands and principles, and how couples can submit to themselves to the will of God .
Christian counselors have the capacity to do this because they follow the bible, which is the absolute standard to measure the objectives and evaluate the counselee’s lifestyle. Secular counselors, on the other hand, have no such standards, but instead, they use the societal norms or psychological findings, which change by winds of time. Using bible as the guide, Christian counselors can teach and advice people on the morality of their actions.
Finding the right Christian marriage counselors
Finding a Christian marriage counselor will not be a very difficult talk; all you have to do is to look at the right place and you’ll surely find the right person for you.
1. Go to your pastor. Your pastor can provide information on where to find a Christian marriage counselor. People walk into the church all the time for various reasons so there’s no need to be afraid even if it is your first in the longest time. The church is there to help you.
2. Which one is your type? There are three types of There are several types of Christian marriage counselor: professional therapist, lay Christian marriage counselor, and pastoral Christian marriage counselor. One may be slightly different from the other but basically practices the same Christian approach, still it pays to do your research.
3. Keep the schedule. There is no point in seeking for help then ignore the schedule of your counseling. If your husband or wife wishes not to come, come alone. It is much better to talk to someone who can give the right advice regarding your marital problems than keeping it to yourself just because your partner doesn’t like to cooperate.
4. Commit to future sessions. Christian marriage counseling is best when done regularly. Understand that counseling touches all aspects of your marriage and helps you stay closer to God.
When my wife and I came to realize that our marriage is going nowhere but down, we agreed to enter Christian marriage counseling sessions. Our experience during the sessions can be summed up as “life-changing” as we both felt love and renewed respect to one another.
